Network News, Aug. 2015
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A publication for Hartford HealthCare employees August 2015 NetworkNews Skin to Skin: A Win-Win C-Sections Allowing Mom and Baby to be One-on-One On July 20, 2015, Alexandra Westen gave birth at Hartford “Research has shown that early skin-to-skin contact Hospital to a healthy 6 lb. 2 oz. baby boy named Sven. helps to promote breastfeeding,” said Garcia. “It also Sven joins older brother Kai, born three years earlier at helps decrease a mother’s anxiety and discomfort, while Hartford Hospital. Both babies were born by Cesarean helping to regulate a newborn’s temperature and keep section. But this time, Alexandra was able to hold Sven them calm during the transition.” just moments after he was born. The immediate contact through skin-to-skin further “I had him on my chest,” explains Westen. “It made enhances Hartford Hospital’s focus on patient-centered care. me feel more present in his birth, that I was part of the “We want our patients to have a wonderful birthing whole experience. It was a beautiful way for us to be one.” experience,” said Garcia. “Reuniting mother and baby right Just over a year ago, Sara Garcia, RN and Peri-Operative away allows for that initial bonding to occur, and most coordinator on the Labor and Delivery Unit at Hartford important, they can share a priceless, intimate moment Hospital led the initiative to improve the childbirth that only happens once.” experience for mothers having C-sections through “skin- Watch a story about Westen’s gentle C-section on Fox to-skin” contact. CT News. Day Kimball and Hartford HealthCare Explore Affiliation Recently, Hartford HealthCare and Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) announced plans to explore a strategic partnership that could lead to a formal affiliation. Meet our newest potential partner: Where is it? In the heart of Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner,’’ Day Kimball Hospital is located in Putnam and serves patients in towns including Danielson, Dayville and Plainfield Nearest cities: • Providence, R.I., 20 miles east • Worcester, Mass., 20 miles north Licensed beds: 122 What’s in a name? Named in memory of Day Kimball, Staff of medical professionals: 300 who died in 1893. His mother, Susan Tillinghast Kimball of Boston, and other family members donated $9,000 Affiliates: Day Kimball Medical Group; Day Kimball to establish the hospital with the stipulation that it Healthcare Centers in Danielson, Dayville, Plainfield preserve the memory of her son and Putnam; Day Kimball HomeMakers; Day Kimball HomeCare; Hospice and Palliative Care of Northeastern Benefits for Hartford HealthCare? Would enhance Connecticut HHC’s presence in Eastern Connecticut, where we already have affiliations with Windham Hospital in Services: Primary care; behavioral health; cancer care; Willimantic and Backus in Norwich. At the same time, diagnostic imaging and blood lab; emergency medicine; DKH has a unique background in rural health that physical medicine and rehabilitation; women’s health; would benefit HHC as we continue to focus on cardiology; dermatology; endocrinology; gastroenterology; population health improvement infectious disease; nephrology; pulmonary medicine; rheumatology; sleep medicine; wound care Benefits for Day Kimball Healthcare? “An affiliation with HHC would provide DKH clinicians and patients Surgical specialties: Breast; ear, nose and throat; endoscopy; with access to HHC’s key system-wide healthcare service gynecology; ophthalmology; orthopedics; urology lines,” said DKH President and CEO Robert Smanik. Founded: 1894 Tallwood Urology and Kidney Institute Goes System-wide The Tallwood Urology and Kidney Institute at Hartford the Institute, providers come together in six disease Hospital now is a system-wide resource that will provide management teams to discuss and evaluate evidence- expertise from throughout the system for HHC patients based medicine. with urologic and kidney diseases. The teams focus on urologic oncology, kidney stones, In 2013, an anonymous donor endowed a gift to launch pelvic health, men’s health, general urology and chronic the Institute to improve coordination of care, consistency kidney disease. The Institute also provides education and of clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Through other resources to help patients better manage their disease. 2 Program Improves Care In and Out of the Hospital A new program being introduced facility that is part of the RightCare across HHC promises to network. Based on patient improve patient outcomes and information transmitted with the satisfaction by planning for referral, the agency can respond discharge even before a patient’s quickly if it’s a good fit. “The hospital stay begins. software also will make its own With new software called recommendation for the patient RightCare, clinicians can make based on the patient’s information. arrangements for patients to So the patient and the family know continue their care once they more quickly what care the patient leave the hospital based on will receive and where the patient standard assessments that begin Wendy Heilwell, a medical case worker at Backus, will receive it.” in the admitting office at the says RightCare makes her job easier and patient Patients also have a say in their start of a hospital stay. satisfaction, greater. post-hospital care. The assessment is a series “Patients usually get their first of seven questions that help caregivers determine if the choice of where they want to go. We type a note to the patient is at high risk for readmission or complications facility the patient prefers and get an answer quickly,” from an illness. For a patient with a high-risk score, Heilwell said. “And if something comes up during the planning begins immediately to provide more intense patient’s stay, we can update the agency or facility with a treatment while the patient is in the hospital and for quick note. It eliminates repeat questions and phone calls.” home or nursing care upon release. RightCare improves All of Hartford HealthCare’s skilled-nursing, home care communication between acute and post-acute patient and rehabilitation services are connected to RightCare, as care services. well as about 10 other community providers. “We expect RightCare has been implemented at all Hartford additional agencies and facilities to sign on,” Heilwell said. HealthCare hospitals, and several post-acute care facilities Hartford HealthCare implemented RightCare to reduce are connected to the system. readmissions and ensure patients get the right care. High- With RightCare, says Wendy Heilwell, a medical case risk patients are three times more likely to be readmitted worker at Backus Hospital for the last 27 years, discharge than the average patient and research shows that 64 planners no longer have to waste time on the phone searching percent of patients who were readmitted within 30 days for nursing home beds and can avoid keeping patients and didn’t receive post-acute care. RightCare identifies that families in the dark until an appropriate placement need at admission and has been proven to reduce is found. all-cause, 30-day readmissions by up to 35 percent. Instead, Heilwell simply transmits referrals “Patient outcomes improve,” said Heilwell, “and so electronically to a home-care agency or skilled-nursing does satisfaction.” MidState Welcomes LIFE STAR to a New Home Move Brings Aircraft Closer to Patients On Aug. 7, a third home for LIFE STAR opened at MidState Medical Center. The new location better serves the community as it enables LIFE STAR to reach a wider patient geography and, as always, bring the patient to the most appropriate clinical setting, often Hartford Hospital’s level 1 trauma center. There are also LIFE STAR hangars on the roof of Hartford Hospital and at Backus Hospital in Norwich. 3 CareConnect: Epic Rollout, Epic Results Patients and their medical teams can now Connect to Healthier like never before: Our Epic electronic health record went live on Aug. 4. Launched at 23 Hartford HealthCare Medical Group (HHCMG) primary care offices, Epic, as part of CareConnect, brings together medical records in one unified system: No matter where they go for care, patients can instantly share the same information with caregivers. In a few days, a world of connections Despite an unrelated network glitch on launch day, the new system integrated smoothly into HHC operations. “We saw 720 patients, signed and closed 82 percent of charts, and had bills ready to go out by 8:30 p.m.,” reported Dr. Spencer Erman, HHC’s chief medical informatics officer for ambulatory care. “Within days, patient volumes were back over the 80 percent baseline.” What’s more, CareConnect began delivering The CareConnect command center helped support the Epic impressive results: HHC staff exchanged information on go-live at Hartford HealthCare Medical Group’s primary 1,743 patients — more than 15,000 documents — with care offices on Aug. 4. 18 different healthcare organizations across the state and the country, even as far away as Northern California. with trainers, and practice on a demo site. The week before That’s a major improvement for patients who once go-live day, 50 percent of providers attended drop-in had to repeat themselves each time they sought care at sessions to prepare. Working together, they helped achieve a different location. CareConnect also features MyChart- a successful workflow transition. Plus, letting them view portions of their medical records online, anytime and anywhere, including medications, First step in a system-wide rollout lab results and summaries